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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28783146">But on the last watch (my hope is reborn)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stereden/pseuds/stereden'>stereden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stereden's One Piece AU's [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Bad coping mechanisms, Competent!Buggy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Gen, Grief, Hugs, Pre-Canon, Semi-feral baby Ace, Shanks and Buggy trying their best to be good adults TM, Shanks is too drunk yet not drunk enough for this, bring your own tissues, sins of the father should not be taken out on the children, though he's not the focus of this story, though honestly you all should be used to it by now since this is me we're talking about here, who really needs a hug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:28:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28783146</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stereden/pseuds/stereden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shanks is drunk. Drunk enough that the world spins a little bit, drunk enough that he stops paying too much attention to his surroundings, drunk enough that all he cares about is getting drunker.</p>
<p>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice the small figure in the trees, observing him from a distance.</p>
<p>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice when the small figure starts creeping closer.</p>
<p>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice the small figure until it drops from the trees right next to him, and it's not a full moon but it's not a new moon either, it's something in between where he can see a bit but not quite clearly, and his head hurts and his sight is foggy, and he blinks, multiple times, tries to make out the shape that just dropped next to him and-</p>
<p>Legs apart, solid on the ground, unshakeable, back straight, head held high and wild curls flying every which way, a long weapon held in hand, ready to be unleashed on whoever incurred the figure's wrath, and the size is wrong and the shape is too different, too small, but for a moment all Shanks can think is familiar even as it feels like the breath just got punched out of him, and he can't help the longing that grips him in that moment.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks &amp; Portgas D. Ace, Buggy &amp; Portgas D. Ace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stereden's One Piece AU's [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>584</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Old sailors at their drinks, hung like torn rigging from the spar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aibhilin/gifts">Aibhilin</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy New Year everyone! I'm hoping 2021 will be a good year for you and that you and your loved ones are as safe and healthy as possible &lt;3</p>
<p>This story is a belated Christmas present/on time birthday present for the amazing Aibhilin, who keeps throwing awesome plot bunnies my way on the discord and  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23158693/chapters/55427515">is also the person doing a podfic of my main One Piece story!</a></p>
<p>This story is actually based on one of the plot bunnies Aibhilin threw my way some weeks ago, about Shanks meeting Ace on Dawn while being so drunk he doesn't quite realize what's going on at first.</p>
<p>This story is heavy on the angst, fair warning - though there's hugs and comfort after the hurt? Still, better bring your own tissues, just in case.</p>
<p>So, what can you expect from this story?<br/>- ANGST and FEELS<br/>- Shanks' unhealthy coping mechanisms and Shanks calling himself out on them<br/>- semi-feral baby Ace (who is like, eight-nine years old in this)<br/>- Shanks being very good with kids even when very drunk<br/>- Shanks being very drunk<br/>- Grief and mourning (even ten years later)</p>
<p>And now on to the story itself ! I hope you'll like it! The second chapter should be up tomorrow - just in time for Aibhilin's birthday :D I hope you'll enjoy the feels, Aibh!</p>
<p>Fic title is from the Jolly Roger song "The last watch".</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>It was just another day of drink in this salty, sea-side bar<br/>
The rafters creaked like broken masts that had seen their final gale<br/>
Old sailors at their drinks hung like torn rigging from the spar<br/>
Where once saltwater ran their veins, now there's naught but rum and ale.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>(The Jolly Rogers - The Warning)</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>It’s late. It’s late and it’s dark, and it’s the ten-year anniversary of his captain’s execution and Shanks is drunk. Not his usual, functional alcoholic level drunk, either. No. He’s actually, properly drunk, because it’s been ten fucking years since his captain’s head hit the ground and Shanks…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks is still not okay. Probably never will be, to be honest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Roger had been his<strike> father</strike> captain, one of the best men Shanks had ever known. Had he been perfect? Davy Jones, no, certainly not. Had he made mistakes? More than Shanks can count. Had he tried his best nonetheless? Yes. Had he raised two little brats from street rats to ressourcefull young pirates? He'd certainly done his best. Had he kept them alive and safe? Mostly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had Shanks loved him despite all this?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It's been ten years since Roger's death, twelve since the last time Shanks actually got to talk to the man, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>misses him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Misses him something fierce, and the grief is still just as strong as it was a decade ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So when he had woken up today, and seen the date on the calendar, he had just... decided that today wasn't worth being the 'functional' part of 'functional drunk' for. Benn had just nodded quietly when Shanks had informed that he would be going out for the day, and promised to keep an eye on that reckless little brat that had attached himself to them like a barnacle and refused to let go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Shanks loves Luffy, loves him more than he would have believed possible, since he's only known the kid for a couple of months. But Luffy is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>D,</span>
  </em>
  <span> one who has one hell of a smile and one hell of a dream, and how could Shanks </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> love him?)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Shanks loves Luffy, loves him more than words could say, and that's why he refuses to see the boy today, to let the kid see him in this state.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Shanks had left Luffy in Benn's competent hands and had wandered off with a bag filled with some of the best and worst sake he managed to get his hands on, and he had wandered off towards the mountains. Makino had warned them about the mountain bandits earlier that week, which just means that most people avoid the area. Which suits him just fine. Shanks himself has nothing to fear from East-Blue bandits: he just wants to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he's not afraid to enforce that request should anyone come and bother him today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, except Buggy. Buggy who </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been here tonight, who should have been here over a week ago, who had been on his way, but then little Usopp had called him because Banchinna was sick, and then Buggy had made a detour to check on them for Yasopp's sake. Good thing he did, too, since Banchinna had apparently fallen victim to heavy metal poisoning, which the local doctor hadn't been able to treat. She's doing much better now, and Buggy is actually bringing her and Usopp to Dawn so Yasopp can check on them with his own eyes, but that doesn't change the fact that Buggy's arrival was pushed back by a good two weeks. Which means that Shanks is </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span> tonight, alone with his thoughts and his grief and his sake, and the company of that last one makes the other two much easier to bear with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Shanks goes up into the mountains, and he finds himself a nice little cliff-edge to sit by and watch the sea, and he gets steadily drunker as the sun travels through the sky, and tries not to think about how much he misses his captain, about how much he wishes he had been able to stop him, to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get him to change his mind, or to at least allow them a proper goodbye-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now it's late, and it's dark, and Shanks is </span>
  <em>
    <span>drunk,</span>
  </em>
  <span> his guard down because this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dawn Island </span>
  </em>
  <span>and he's stronger than everyone here </span>
  <em>
    <span>combined</span>
  </em>
  <span> and his crew is safe and sound down in Fuusha and Shanks doesn't need to keep his mask up, doesn't need to be strong for anyone tonight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tonight, he's allowed to be just </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shanks,</span>
  </em>
  <span> not Akagami, not Captain, not Boss, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shanks,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be the little boy who had been picked up from the gutter by a man bigger than life, who had been raised and loved by a man who would become the King of Pirates, and who had lost his entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>world</span>
  </em>
  <span> when the swords had fallen down, when Gol D. Roger's head had hit the ground. Had lost his <strike>father</strike> captain and lost his crew, everyone splintering and heading off in different directions and dropping him and Buggy off in the middle of the fucking new World and expecting them to survive without help, with Bullet going completely off the rails and landing himself in Impel Down after taking a fucking Buster Call head-on-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, tonight, Shanks is </span>
  <em>
    <span>drunk.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Drunk enough that the world spins a little bit, drunk enough that he stops paying too much attention to his surroundings, drunk enough that all he cares about is getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>drunker.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice the small figure in the trees, observing him from a distance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice when the small figure starts creeping closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Drunk enough that he doesn't notice the small figure until it drops from the trees right next to him, and it's not a full moon but it's not a new moon either, it's something in between where he can see a bit but not quite clearly, and his head </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts</span>
  </em>
  <span> and his sight is foggy, and he blinks, multiple times, tries to make out the shape that just dropped next to him and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Legs apart, solid on the ground, unshakeable, back straight, head held high and wild curls flying every which way, a long weapon held in hand, ready to be unleashed on whoever incurred the figure's wrath, and the size is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the shape is </span>
  <em>
    <span>too different, too small, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but for a moment all Shanks can think is </span>
  <em>
    <span>familiar</span>
  </em>
  <span> even as it feels like the breath just got punched out of him, and he can't help the </span>
  <em>
    <span>longing</span>
  </em>
  <span> that grips him in that moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows,</span>
  </em>
  <span> of course he knows, that this isn't real, that it can't be real, but for one moment, for a fraction of a second, he allows himself to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hope that, despite all odds, despite seeing Roger's head hit the ground </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself,</span>
  </em>
  <span> his captain has somehow managed to find his way back to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then the silence and the illusion is broken, and the voice is different, too young, to high, but the cadence, the way of speaking is just the same and it's another punch in the gut, but the voice is just as demanding as Captain's used to be and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who're you?" A question, a demand, an </span>
  <em>
    <span>order,</span>
  </em>
  <span> one enforced by a wisp of Conqueror, too weak to be anything but instinctual, untrained, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> but that's familiar too, isn't it, and Buggy would know better, would tell him if it's actually familiar or if it's just Shanks projecting his grief, but Buggy isn't here and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks is drunk, drunker than he has allowed himself to be in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years, </span>
  </em>
  <span>drunker than he's allowed himself to be since </span>
  <em>
    <span>Depa,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but he knows that this is a kid, and he knows that he hasn't seen this kid before, would have remembered him if he had seen him in Foosha, and he knows there's no child anywhere near Luffy's age in that village - because Luffy wouldn't be that fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>lonely</span>
  </em>
  <span> if there was anyone else there - and he knows that High Towners don't let their children wander into the mountains, and he knows that there's only a handful of children in the Grey Terminal because he went there and offered them a way out and the few that had been there and had reluctantly trusted him had been entrusted into the care of one of his contacts on a neighbouring island, but this kid isn't one of the ones who'd refused his help either, because he would have remembered him, would have remembered the ragged clothes and the curls and the weapon - a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pipe,</span>
  </em>
  <span> not a sword like his drink-addled mind had first thought - and...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This is a child, one that has lived alone or as good as alone for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> and doesn't trust </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> and it reminds Shanks sharply of a gutter, years ago, of two little boys clinging to each other because they had nothing and no one else and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>"Who are you?" An order, repeated, a hint of anger and again the wisp of Conqueror giving this young voice the weight of someone much older, and Shanks lets his head fall back as he looks up at the stars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Drunk," he replies, but that's who he is right now. "A sad drunk, more precisely."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snort of disgust that answer gains him is expected. "That's </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> you are. I asked </span>
  <em>
    <span>who."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I asked for my Captain not to be dead, but that doesn't change anything, does it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence. Then, moments later, the stomping of little feet <strike>so small, had Shanks and Buggy ever been so small?</strike> coming closer. The cold touch of iron as the child pokes him with the pipe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is that why you're drunk? 'Cause your Captain's dead?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks keeps his eyes on the stars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence again. Shanks takes a long swig from the closest bottle and doesn't even grimace at the taste, even though it's one of the shitty bottles. That's okay, he's not drinking for the taste right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More shuffling, and then the sound of someone dropping to the ground a couple of steps away from him - just out of swords range, if Shanks were to hazard a guess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Was it a lon' time ago? That he died."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Could have been a 'she'," Shanks feels obligated to point out, because he's known enough female captains in his life to know that they're just as strong as their male counterpart, often even stronger because of all the sexist bullshit they have to deal with, and absolutely terrifying most of the time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But he wasn't," the kid counters, and he sounds very sure of it, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No. He wasn't a she," Shanks sighs. "And it's been ten years exactly."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It's weird. He came here to be alone, had been ready to bite off the head of anyone who came to disturb his vigil, but this kid... he doesn't mind him. Doesn't mind him at all, despite the fact that Shanks knows he wouldn't have been able to stand </span>
  <em>
    <span>Luffy's</span>
  </em>
  <span> company right now, no matter how much he loves the brat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He's still not looking at the boy - he's pretty sure it's a boy, at least, but the kid is in that weird age were all children look the same and the only way to discern their gender preference </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span> be their clothes, and even then that's often hit and miss, but what little he can read of the child with his sluggish Observation seems to indicate </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span> at least - and he's not planning on looking at him anytime soon. He's still not quite sure he's not imagining the entire thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"... that's a long time ago," The boy says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt anymore," Shanks replies, and finds himself wishing for one of Benn's cigarettes. He doesn't smoke often, but for some reason he feels the need for one tonight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What was he like? Your captain I mean?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks sighs, breathes out slowly. What had Roger been like? Bigger than life, a force of nature, one hell of a fighter. A King without a crown, a D with a will of steel and a heart of gold. One hell of a captain <strike>and one hell of a father</strike> and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A moron," Shanks says, and pretends there's no tears running down his face. "He was a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>moron</span>
  </em>
  <span> but we loved him anyway. Strong as hell, too, but sometimes he would do such dumbass things that you'd wonder how he'd survived so long. And he was, you know. Strong. Really strong. Too strong, maybe, didn't know when to stop looking for adventures and battles even though he had two little kids hanging around that definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren't</span>
  </em>
  <span> ready for that kind of bullshit, but he did his best to look after us despite that. Saved our lives more than once, too, for all that he was the one to put us in danger in the first place, but he always apologized afterwards. Didn't stop, I don't think he </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> have stopped, but he always made sure we were alright after a big fight."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How old were you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"When I joined? Or when he died?" Shanks asks, eyes still fixed on the stars. "Seven. And fourteen."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sharp inhale. "And you were in battle?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I was in </span>
  <em>
    <span>war,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Shanks corrected, because Edd War had not been named that for shit and giggles. "Too young for it, that's for sure, not that I thought so at the time. Too young to be sailing the New World, too. Too young for Paradise, even. But I survived, and I don't think we would have if Captain hadn't dragged us out of that gutter, and he loved us, and that was enough."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some shuffling, as if someone has just dragged their knees up to their chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's it like?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hm?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Being a pirate."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks leans back, grounds his hands in the grass as he leans on his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why do you ask?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another shuffling sound. A shrug, maybe?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Dunno. Cause I want to know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's... terrifying. And amazing and great and a lot of different things. I love the sea and I love the wind and I love the waves and I love my ship and I love my crew, but I could have that if I were a merchant or a fisherman or even a marine. But I love </span>
  <em>
    <span>freedom,</span>
  </em>
  <span> too, and I don't think I could have that any other way."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He chuckles, softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I am a Child of Davy Jones, of Davy Jones and the Seas he sails on. I have salt-water in my veins and foam in my eyes. I am a pirate and there's nothing else I would rather be."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pause. Silence, again, and Shanks finally brings his eyes down from the stars to stare at the sea instead. It's calm, tonight, the half-moon's reflection nearly flawless over the water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And you, kid? Who are you, and what do you want to be?"</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>A hitched breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks chuckles again, ruefully, and takes another swig. That's a heavy question, to ask a child. Maybe he shouldn't have. "Ah, don't mind me kid. I'm just an old drunk rambling about the past. To be absolutely honest with you, I'm still not sure I'm not hallucinating this entire conversation. I'm certainly drunk enough for it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence again. The kid's not a big talker, if he's real at all and not just a figment of Shanks' drunk imagination. He finishes his bottle, grabs another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why do you keep drinking, then, if you think you're already hallucinating?" The last word is enunciated carefully, as if the speaker is unsure of its pronunciation or meaning. That's fair enough, though. The kid's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>kid,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and hallucination isn't exactly a common word. Especially since the kid doesn't look like the kind who got tutors from a young age.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks downs half the bottle in one go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because it's been ten years today and I refuse to be sober on a general basis, but especially tonight. Too many things I want to forget, and alcohol helps with that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pauses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's a really bad coping mechanism, though, so in case you're actually real and not just a figment of my imagination, please don't take up drinking to deal with shit. It's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad idea. Really, really bad idea, and I actually have no idea how my liver isn't killing me already. My doctor certainly yells enough about it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Whatsa coping mechanism?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Something that helps you deal with things that happened. I drink. My best friend fidgets or represses everything until it explodes. That's not healthy either, by the way. Talk to people. Make bread. Knit. Focus on </span>
  <em>
    <span>making</span>
  </em>
  <span> something rather than destroying stuff, though destroying stuff can help sometimes, too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why don't you do one of those, then, if they're better?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cause they don't help me forget or dull the memories. I break things when I'm angry, 'cause that's better than breaking people. My cook lets me make bread when I'm anxious, ‘cause the kneading helps a bit. But tonight I want to forget, and alcohol helps with that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why do you want to forget, if he was your captain?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks laughs. It's not a nice sound, and later, once he knows if it's actually real and not just a hallucination, he'll hate himself for acting like that in front of a kid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't want to forget </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Couldn't, even if I tried to, and I never will. He was my </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the man I would have followed to the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker if he had let me, the man without whom I wouldn't be here today. I want to forget that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn't let me.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That he didn't give me a chance to say goodbye. I want to forget the sound his head made when it hit the ground, and the smell of his blood as it splattered on the pavement. I want to forget the laughter and excitement of the people in the crowd as he died. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I want to forget, kid."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He downs the rest of the bottle, grabs another and empties it in one go before reaching for the next one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I probably never will, but alcohol makes it easier, so that's why I'm here, getting drunker by the second."</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>The kid is quiet again, for so long that Shanks wonders if he's left, or if Shanks' mind finally got tired of hallucinating. Or if he's reached the point of drunkenness where he can't even hallucinate anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It's dark, now, fully night already.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you think it's tomorrow already?" He asks, whimsically. "Or is it still today?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sun's not up yet," comes the reply. Not gone, then. "Means the night isn't over. So it can't be tomorrow yet."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hu. Interesting ways of seeing things, Shanks thinks. Though given the state of the kid, he doesn't think he owns a watch or a clock, so that would be a perfectly good way of differentiating the days, wouldn't it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He groans. "Still today, then."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He finishes his bottle, grabs for the next one. He's lost count of how many he's drunk now, and he knows he'll regret it tomorrow, or whenever the hangover sets in. Benn is going to tear him a new one, and he's </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to tell Buggy about it, the traitor, which means that Buggy will tear him a new one too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Buggy understands, though. So does Benn, though not to the same extent. They still hate it when Shanks does this to himself, though, especially when he does it alone.)</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Time passes, and the pile of empty bottles grows. He thinks he's nearly done with the shitty bottles now, but to be honest he barely even tastes it any longer. Honestly, it's probably a miracle he's still conscious, let alone able to open those bottles in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There's only silence from where the maybe real kid, maybe hallucination, sits, but Shanks still doesn't look at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You said you've been a pirate for a long time, right?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hu. Still not gone, then. "Nearly twenty years now. More than fifteen, at least."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Math is hard right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And you've never been caught?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not for the marine's lack of trying," Shanks spits. "But no, they didn't. Not long enough to keep me or kill me, at least." Buggy had always been there to bail him out when he couldn't get himself out of it on his own, and he hadn't gotten captured since forming his own crew. Benn makes sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But your captain did?" The tone is doubtful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fuck, if this is a hallucination then Shanks' mind is bent on sucker punching him tonight, isn't it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Didn't catch him either. Bastard gave himself up."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A startled noise. "What?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Gave himself up. He'd been sick for a long time and decided he didn't want to die on a bed, so he gave himself up and was executed instead. Bastard."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He finishes the bottle in his hand and grabs the next one. From touch alone he knows this is one of the higher quality one. Too bad he's too wasted to enjoy it, but hopefully it will be enough to finally knock him out enough so he can sleep and </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop. thinking. about. that. day.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah. Oh." He downs half the bottle in one go. Waste of good sake, that, but he doesn't give a damn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That was stupid," the kid finally says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes," Shanks says, and ignores the tears streaming down his face. "Yes, it was."</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>The sky is starting to lighten by the time the maybe kid speaks up again, and Shanks is still not unconscious from drinking enough sake to kill a small army. Unfortunately. Not from lack of trying, though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What would you say," the maybe kid says suddenly, in that time when it's not quite morning and not quite night anymore, in that weird in between where everything is both real and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "If the Pirate King had a son?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks doesn't choke on his sake, but that's only because he'd just finished his last bottle. Doesn't stop him from grabbing the next one and taking a hefty swig because...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Baterilla.</span>
  </em>
  <span> An entire island worth of children and expectant mothers, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead and gone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> just because of a rumour. Just because of the rumour that Gol D Roger might have had a kid there. All because of that. Too many coffins and too small bodies and too many of them, too many too small graves to dig, and Shanks will never forget that, will never not see the dirt underneath his fingernails from digging and digging and digging because the locals hadn't been in any fit state to do so but the dead had still deserved a proper burial.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All because of a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>rumour.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If the Pirate King had a son? Or a child at all?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks empties the rest of the bottle and leans back against his arms again, looks up at the fading stars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I would be damn fucking glad that kid survived."</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>More hitched breaths. Shock, this time, Shanks thinks vaguely, in that fog like state that all his drinking has finally managed to achieve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"</span>
    <span>Glad?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, glad." Shanks says, and grabs another bottle. "The world tried really fucking hard to make sure that kid didn't make it. And if the kid did, then I'm fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>extasic.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Might have to find a way to summon Davy Jones myself so I can punch some people, but I would be really fucking happy if that kid survived."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But... the Pirate King's kid?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks snorts, downs half the bottle in one go again. "So? Still a kid. Hasn't done a thing wrong. Existing isn't a crime, no matter whose kid you are. Sure the marines are preaching the opposite, but they're dicks who didn't see anything wrong with hunting fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>babies</span>
  </em>
  <span> so they can go and die in a ditch for all I care."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pauses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Especially Sengoku. And fucking Shiryuu too. They can both die </span>
  <em>
    <span>painfully</span>
  </em>
  <span> in a fucking ditch. Garp too, the bastard."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another swig of the bottle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A kid's a kid. Period. They don't ask to be born, don't ask to be born the child of whoever gave birth to them or whoever was their sperm donor. I certainly didn't ask for mine, let me tell you, and Captain was more of a parent to me than either of the people who actually made me. But it's never the kid's fault. How could it be? They're just </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Should be left somewhere safe where they're taken care of by people who won't hurt them, not hunted all across the seas."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scowls. "There's this kid, off in West Blue. Island called Ohara. Don't bother looking it up, it doesn't exist anymore. And they say the kid did it. Nico Robin. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>eight</span>
  </em>
  <span> at the time. Eight. And they want me to believe that she destroyed an entire island? And 8 battleships? Ha!" Another swig. "Ohara was targeted. Buster call. They were scholars. Archeologists. Probably found something the World Government didn't want them to know and they sent their little lap dogs there to make sure it never got out. Fucking admirals. They can die in a ditch too, all three of them. Especially the magma bastard. So yeah, they wipe up the entire island, but that kid? That kid slipped through their fingers, so now they're hunting her. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>eight. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She's like, fourteen right now. Still a kid.</span>
  <span> And they tried to do the same to that kid. Even before they were born. So yeah, I'd be damn fucking glad if they survived. I cheer everytime I hear Nico Robin slipped through their fingers again, I would be doing the same with that kid. Fuck the marines. Fuck them."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another swig. Not much left in this bottle, unfortunately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So yeah, fuck the marines. If that kid made it, then I will fucking make sure they keep making it. And the marines can go and fuck themselves. Kids are kids and should never be targeted for their parents crimes. What would they even have been able to do? Especially a baby! Ha, as if a baby can kill someone. I've seen babies, and toddlers. Momo and Hiyori. Couldn't kill anyone if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All they can do is sleep and cry and eat and shit, and sometimes they vomit as well and yeah dirty nappy stink something fierce, but that wouldn't be enough to actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> someone."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembers the two of them, Oden's kids, and he still doesn't know what happened to them or to Oden but he knows it can't be good and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I mean... </span>
  <em>
    <span>babies.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They're so small and tiny and fragile. Couldn't hurt flies if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You really have to be a giant fucking asshole to want to hurt a baby. But that's the marines for you. A bunch of giant fucking assholes licking the boots of the assholes in chief of the World Government!" He shudders. "Too many dead babies. They were so small and tiny and cute and then they weren't. Just because the marines and the World Government were fucking cowards who couldn't even be reassured that the man they were terrified off was dead, they had to be even bigger assholes. An entire island worth of kids, gone. We got there too late to do anything but help bury them. Wasn't their fault either. None of theirs. And if there was indeed one of Roger's kids somewhere, then it's not their fault either. Didn't ask to be born. Didn't ask for the marines to be dicks. Didn't ask for their father to be the fucking King of Pirates."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He drinks the last of the sake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Didn't ask for my Captain to be dead either. Didn't ask for his enemies, pirates and marines alike, to hunt me and Bug down just 'cause Captain wasn't there to take their anger out on any longer. Still happened. Still wasn't our fault, but at least we weren't </span>
  <em>
    <span>babies.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And we actually knew Captain and sailed with him and remember him, we were his actual </span>
  <em>
    <span>apprentices.</span>
  </em>
  <span> We choose to sail with him. That kid didn't choose to have him as their father."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks sets the bottle down, lies down completely until his head hits the ground. Crosses his arms behind it to pillow it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Would have to call Buggy, though, if there's actually a kid out there somewhere. Tell him we've got a sibling. Not any of the others, though. Fuckers left us alone after Captain's death, they can stay in the dark, I don't give a fuck. Nope. Buggy and I can find the kid and make sure they're safe and will stay so. We're good at hiding. We're still alive, after all, and those assholes tried real hard to make us not alive after Captain's execution. Ten years, and we're still here, alive and kicking, and we're not planning on stopping anytime soon. Nope. Have to make sure they can't ever touch us or our people ever again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks at the sky, slowly pinking up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Think I might try and become a Yonkou. Shiki's place has been empty for a while, and it would really piss the fucker off if I could snatch it. One of Roger's apprentices, snagging his title? Ha, I hope someone brings him a newspaper down in his cell when that happens. I wish I could see his face. It's gonna be awesome."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaky breaths, to his left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Roger's apprentice?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks snorts. "Can't call myself his apprentice anymore, can I? Captain's dead, has been dead ten years now. I'm a captain myself now. Not an apprentice any longer, not an apprentice without a captain any longer either, not that it actually stopped any of the fuckers from coming after us. But I was, once. He was my Captain, and he was a dumbass, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I really fucking miss him."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, it's not just tears, it's actual </span>
  <em>
    <span>sobs</span>
  </em>
  <span> tearing through his body. "Fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>moron,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" he hisses. "Fucking moron and his fucking illness and his fucking death wish giving himself up and not giving us a fucking change to say goodbye or talk him out of it, going and handing himself into fucking Monkey D. Garp's hands of all people. Gonna punch him </span>
  <em>
    <span>so fucking hard</span>
  </em>
  <span> when it's my turn to board the Flying Dutchman, I swear. You don't </span>
  <em>
    <span>do that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Not to the people who love you. Asshole."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shuffling. The maybe-kid coming closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"People say he was a monster. That the world is better off without him or his blood."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ha!" Shanks spits. "On the battlefield, if you pissed him off? Sure, he was. Slaughtered an entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>army</span>
  </em>
  <span> single-handedly because the bastards tried to hurt me and Buggy and didn't back down when he told them to let us go. But otherwise? He was a happy go lucky </span>
  <em>
    <span>moron.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Should have seen him with little Momo and baby Hiyori. Stupidest grin in the world, telling us how he couldn't wait to have his own kids. 'S not fair that he never got to. He would have been a good dad, did a good enough job with Buggy an' me. Could have done with someone to remind him that kids are squishy and fragile, sure, but I guess whoever that kid's mom ended up being would have handled that. Monster, ha! No one who actually met him outside of battle would say that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pauses, closes his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kind,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Shanks whispers, like it's a secret. "Let us sneak into his cabin when we had nightmares. Helped us build blanket forts in there so we had somewhere to hide when things got too much. Gave us hugs and held us when we were scared. He wasn't perfect, wasn't the most gentle man in the world and he made a lot of mistakes... but he wasn't a monster either. Not unless someone was a monster to him </span>
  <em>
    <span>first.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And even then..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tall figure, fighting Captain again and again and again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There was this guy. Douglas Bullet. Everyone called him a monster. One hell of a fighter. He believed that one can only be strong if they're alone, and he wanted to be the strongest in the world. He challenged Captain. Multiple times. Captain kicked his ass each and every time, and Bullet kept coming back for more. And Captain told him the same thing, each time. 'Come at me anytime.' Bullet ended up joining the crew, for a while. Calmed down a lot. Still liked a good fight, but he was starting to trust people again, despite having been betrayed so many times. Taught me and Buggy a lot. He truly became one of us, fought for us all, not just himself. And it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>good, </span>
  </em>
  <span>for him and us, really good. He was a great guy, deep down. But then Captain's illness got worse, and Bullet left. Said he didn't think Captain was strong enough even though Captain still kicked his ass anytime. Said that having to protect him would get in his way of being the strongest. So he left. But Buggy said he was crying when he did, and that Bullet probably didn't want to stay and watch Captain die. Still don't quite know if I think he was right or not. T'was at some point before we found Laugh Tale - shortly after Oden joined us, maybe? Can't remember. He was there for Edd War, though, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> I remember. Fucking Shiki. Where was I- ah, yeah. Bullet. See, everyone called him a monster, too, so that's what he became. Since everyone was going to treat him like one anyway, might as well embrace it you know? But then he joined us and turns out he wasn't a monster at all. Just someone who had been hurt a lot and decided to attack first next time. He kind of disappeared after he left us, for all that he claimed he wanted to become the strongest. Didn't hear a word about him until after Captain's death. He went berserk, apparently. Took a fucking Buster call for the marines to take him down long enough to take him to Impel Down. Still think he did it on purpose so he could take his anger out on the ones who had taken Captain away - Sengoku </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Garp ended up leading that Buster Call, from what I heard."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fuck, but Shanks misses him. He's toyed with the idea of breaking into Impel Down a time or twelve, but Buggy would kill him if he tried. Or try to join him, and Shanks knows, objectively, that they're no match for whoever is guarding that prison if Bullet hasn't escaped yet. Because Bullet was a lot stronger than them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So no, I don't think Captain was a monster. Not when he gave every single one of us a </span>
  <em>
    <span>home,</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhere to </span>
  <em>
    <span>belong.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But he was a pirate, and he was an outlaw, and he went to the end of the world with us and found something that the World Government didn't want anyone to find, and so they painted his portrait with the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>monster</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>demon</span>
  </em>
  <span> and cheered when he died, and tried to pretend he didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>scare them. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Just like they did with Nico Robin, just like they tried to do with that kid. And they're not monsters either. The real monsters sit up there on their thrones and decide who lives and who dies and who suffers, and you know what? Fuck them. Fuck them and everyone who thinks like them! I'm gonna make it my goal to </span>
  <em>
    <span>live</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and live </span>
  <em>
    <span>happily</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>loudly</span>
  </em>
  <span> just to spite them! And if there's a kid of my Captain out there? I hope they're alive. I hope they're alive and </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy,</span>
  </em>
  <span> because they deserve to be."</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>He pressed back on his arms at some point, is sitting up again though he can't remember when he decided to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To his left, where the maybe hallucination is sitting, there's a sniffle. Then another. A hitched breath, like someone is trying to repress a sob, and shit, what did he do, why is the kid crying, fuck, hallucination or not, Shanks is not about to let a kid cry without trying to help-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He's moving before he realises he is, movements slow and unsteady as the massive quantity of alcohol he's ingested during the night starts catching up with him, but he manages to stand up and walk towards the kid, though he falls more than kneels down next to him, hand raised hesitantly towards the small, shaking frame.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(So small and tiny and thin-)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dark brown, curly hair, face buried in knobbly knees, too thin arms wrapped around the legs, frayed yellow shirt clinging to his frame, brown shorts with more patches than fabric, bare feet, and he's </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying,</span>
  </em>
  <span> crying silently in a way Shanks knows from experience is learned the hard way, when attracting someone's attention is </span>
  <em>
    <span>dangerous</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>deadly</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he can't be more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>eight</span>
  </em>
  <span> and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He brings his hand down, slowly, carefully, to rest on the boy's shoulder, and the kid </span>
  <em>
    <span>flinches, </span>
  </em>
  <span>honest to Davy Jones </span>
  <em>
    <span>flinches</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Shanks wants to hunt down and kill whoever hurt this kid, but that can wait. The kid can't.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He takes his hand back, lays it on his own knee as he sits down in front of the boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not going to hurt you," he says softly, and he has never meant anything more in his entire life. "I'm just going to stay here, alright? Not going to touch you unless you say it's okay."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No reply, just more sobs, and Shanks is at a loss. Buggy is so much better at this than he is, but Buggy isn't here yet, won't be for another day or two at least, and Shanks has to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know what I said that made you cry, but I'm sorry," he says quietly. "Not gonna apologize for saying it, because nothing I said was a lie, though if you're real and not just my brain making something up Benn and Buggy are going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill me</span>
  </em>
  <span> for swearing so much in front of a kid, but I'm sorry I made you cry. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn't my intention, but I know I can be a dumbass, and..."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you mean it?" The boy whispers, words broken by silent sobs. "What you said, about the Pirate King's kid not being a monster. Did you mean it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Course I did!" Shanks replies sharply. "Would have been my little sibling, in a better world where Captain wasn't sick and didn't get killed by assholes for being a stupid mor-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can't finish his sentence because suddenly there's a small, shaking body slamming into his torso and tears wetting his shirt and Shanks barely manages to stay upright even as his arms close instinctively around the kid's bony shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid <em>cl</em></span>
  <em>
    <span>ings</span>
  </em>
  <span><em>,</em> like Buggy and Shanks used to cling to Roger when they were so scared that nothing but Roger's presence could make things alright ever again, and Shanks presses him close even as he uses his Haki to flush the drunkeness out of his mind because fuck, this </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn't</span>
  </em>
  <span> a hallucination and that means that something is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrong here because this kid is </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying</span>
  </em>
  <span> like his world just got up ended and the questions he was asking were very pointed and fuck it, Shanks needs to be sober and </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking</span>
  </em>
  <span> more than he needs to be drunk right now.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>(The sun is up - well, rising at least - and that means it's tomorrow already, and no longer the anniversary of Captain's death, so he can be sober today. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>has to be</span>
  </em>
  <span> sober today, because there's a kid crying in his arms and Shanks refuses to be the kind of adult who doesn't do anything to help a crying kid.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(He refuses to be like the adults in his life after Captain's death. He has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>better.)</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>The sun is rising, and there's light now, the darkness receding, and there's a little boy sobbing his heart out in Shanks' arms, and all Shanks can do is hold him, hold him tightly and rub soothing circles on his back and whispers quiet, comforting words, nonsense really, but it's the intonation that matters, the sounds of it, the intention behind them, and he holds the little boy and flushes the alcohol out of his system in a way that he knows he is going to regret later. But that's a problem for future him, for when this boy is no longer crying and Shanks has eliminated whoever mistreated him so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because the way the kid clings to him, curls into his touch, reminds him way too much of how he was when Captain picked them up, wary and hurt and touch starved and </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperate</span>
  </em>
  <span> for touch that didn't hurt, for an adult who actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>helped.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes a long time for the kid to calm down, long enough that sun is now fully risen, long enough that the woods around them are waking up, birdsongs rising through the air, but Shanks doesn't move, even though the position isn't exactly a comfortable one. He stays there, one knee on the ground, holding a crying little boy and running his fingers through his hair, whispering soothing nonsense and waiting for his breathing to calm down again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks stays there, fully sober for the first time in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and when the kid finally stops crying, finally dares to raise his head and he is met with reddened silver eyes on a freckled face, all he can think is-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All the questions make sense, now, don't they? He doesn't how it's possible for this kid to be here, not with how old he seems to be, but Lady Toki had a time travel fruit, so there had to be other fruits with similar effects somewhere, and he knows there's a fruit that can change someone's age out there and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello," he says softly, gently raising a hand to wipe tear tracks away from the boy's face. "My name is Shanks, and I used to be an apprentice on Gol D. Roger's ship. And it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> nice to meet you, kiddo."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, when the kid throws his arms around his neck and buries his head in his shoulder, Shanks isn't surprised. He does let his other knee hit the ground, though, sits back on his heels even as he tightens his grip around the kid - around his little </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span> in all but blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's really, really nice to meet you," he repeats, and doesn't even try to hide the tears in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ace," the child whispers against his neck. "M'name is Ace. My name is Portgas D. Ace and... and..." Hitched breath, and Shanks runs his hand over his back, through his hair, gently. "My name is Portgas D. Ace and... and I'm the son of Gol D Roger and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm not a monster."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shanks tightens his grip. "No," he says, and if a slip of Conqueror makes it way into the word, he can't stop it. "You're not a monster."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Small arms tighten around his neck, and Shanks wraps his Haki tightly around him, the way he usually does with Buggy. "You are Portgas D. Ace, and you're the son of Gol D. Roger and <em>you are not a monster. </em>You're a <em>kid,</em> and you're <em>my little brother,</em> and I will make sure <em>no one ever harms you again."</em></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. On the last watch far out on the sea The days work but a bad memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Ace," Shanks asks very carefully. "Who is your 'gramps'?"</p><p>The kid winces.</p><p>"Is it anyone I said I would like to die in a ditch?"</p><p>Because there is only one marine Shanks knows of who calls this island home and who is old enough to be called 'gramps'.</p><p>Ace nods against his skin.</p><p>And Shanks is going to kill Monkey D. Garp.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Birthday Aibhilin!</p><p>Sorry not sorry for the angst :P But I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless!</p><p>So, what can you expect from this (shorter) chapter?<br/>- ANGST and FEELS<br/>- HUGS<br/>- Buggy and Shanks being good adults TM</p><p>And now on to the chapter itself ! I hope you'll like it! I hope you'll enjoy the feels, Aibh!</p><p>Chapter title is from the Jolly Roger song "The last watch".</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It takes a while for both of them to calm down again, after that. Long enough that the sun is high in the sky and that Benn is probably going to start looking for him soon, Shanks thinks ruefully. And he should probably make sure the kid - Ace, his name is <em>Ace</em> - gets some food into him too. He's much too thin, and all those emotions, coupled with a sleepless night for both of them, can't have helped much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cards his fingers through Ace's hair. "Want to come down to my ship with me, kiddo? I'm sure Lucky would be glad to have more people to feed, he always makes too much."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ace hesitates. Clenches his fingers into Shanks' shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Gramps and Dadan say I'm not allowed to go to the village," he says. "Says it's too dangerous. I go to the Gray Terminal, sometimes, but the village..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whoever this 'Gramps' is, Shanks is going to kill him. Slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No one is going to hurt you on my watch, Ace. I told you, didn't I? I'm going to protect you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But... if anyone rec-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't look that much like him, you know," Shanks says carefully. "Like Captain, I mean. You've got his eye colour, sure, but that's about it. And not many people got close enough to see his eyes, and yours don't have the same shape anyway. You probably take after your mom a whole lot. And I know the people in the village. None of them would harm a child, especially not a child under my protection. But we don't have to go through the village. We can just go directly to my ship, if you prefer?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hesitates. Doesn't think so, but... "Is there anyone who needs to know where you are? Anyone who is supposed to watch you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ace shrugs, but doesn't let go of Shanks' shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Gramps is nearly never here, too busy with marine things, and Dadan and the bandits don't care as long as I don't die."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bandits. His little brother is staying with bandits. Who, apparently, don't give a fuck about him. Right. More people for Shanks to potentially murder or at the very least <em>hurt. A lot.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, marin-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ace," Shanks asks very carefully. "Who is your 'gramps'?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid winces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it anyone I said I would like to die in a ditch?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because there is only one marine Shanks knows of who calls this island home and who is old enough to be called 'gramps'.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ace nods against his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Shanks is going to kill Monkey D. Garp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fucking bastard. How the hell did Captain's son end up in Monkey d Fukcing Garps' care? How? Fucking hell Captain what did you do? Why would Garp know about your secret kid but not your own crew?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks' Conqueror is roaring underneath his skin, ready to </span>
  <em>
    <span>burst,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and then-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Buggy.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Buggy's haki, wrapping around him in a soothing embrace, pushing his rage back under the pressure of </span>
  <em>
    <span>care and love and worry </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Shanks feels like he can finally </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathe</span>
  </em>
  <span> again.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"I thought you wouldn't be here until tomorrow at the earliest," he states, not turning around, Ace still cradled in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, the Big Top won't be there until tomorrow," Buggy corrects as he drops from the trees behind him. "Wasn't gonna let you be on your own until then, though. Davy Jones knows what kind of trouble you'd find yourself in without Benn to keep an eye on you, and Benn is apparently too busy trying to keep a mini-D in check to keep you out of trouble."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not that bad," Shanks complains half-heartedly even as Ace clenches his fist tightly around his shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shanks, you were about to go full conqueror before I got there. You absolutely are that bad," Buggy chastises as he drops down next to him, leaning ever so slightly into Shanks' side. "How much did you drink last night? That's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of bottles, but you don't feel drunk. Or hungover. Just tired and happy and angry at the same time. You look like shit, by the way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks would be offended at the comment, but he knows it's true. And also...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Like you look any better," he nudges Buggy's shoulder with his own. "Did you sleep at all last night? Tell me you didn't sail here alone at least."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy laughs. "Nah, wouldn't dare do so. Cabaji came with me, wouldn't let me leave otherwise, the mother hen."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hello pot, meet kettle," Shanks deadpans, then allows himself to lean more of his weight against Buggy. "It's good to see you, Bug."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good to see you too, Shanks," Buggy sighs against him, before turning his head ever so slightly to look at Ace, whose presence Shanks </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> Buggy has known about before he even reached them. "And nice to meet you too, kiddo. I'm Boke no Buggy, this one's best friend."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reaches out a hand towards the kid, but doesn't seem bothered when Ace doesn't let go of Shanks' shirt and just eyes him warily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ace tugs Shanks' shirt. "Is he the one who was an apprentice too?" He hisses in Shanks' ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aye," Shanks says gently, shifting slightly so he can actually face Buggy. "He's also the one person I trust the most in the entire world. Wanna introduce yourself, kid? Or do you want me to do the honours?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ace tenses, shifts a bit in Shanks' arms. But he does raise his eyes to meet Buggy's, and if Shanks looked anything like Buggy does right now when he realised who was staring him in the face, then he's glad no one else was there to see it. Buggy is </span>
  <em>
    <span>ashen</span>
  </em>
  <span> underneath his make-up, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"M'name is Portgas D. Ace," Ace starts, still clinging to Shanks. "And... And I'm the son of the Pirate King and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm not a monster!"</span>
  </em>
  <span> the last part is whisper-yelled, loud enough to be heard and clearly meant to be a scream, but not loud enough to go further than their little spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy is looking between the two of them like he can't quite believe his eyes, can't quite believe his Haki, and all Shanks can do is nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No," Buggy croaks, voice suddenly gone. "You're not a monster, Portgas D. Ace. You're a </span>
  <em>
    <span>miracle."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Shanks should feel bad about making Buggy cry but...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those are good tears, he thinks, as he gathers his friend with his free arm, holds him close and watches as Buggy hesitantly opens one of his own arms for Ace and Ace slowly, carefully, then all at once, rushes forward into Buggy's embrace until he's sandwiched between the two of them, their new little brother who they didn't know about until now, this little boy who deserved the world, and Shanks would make damn sure he got it.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>By the time they've all calmed down a bit, Ace has pretty much cried himself to sleep and Shanks is content to let him nap. They had both had a long night, after all, and emotions and tears are </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhausting </span>
  </em>
  <span>on a good day. Honestly, he wouldn't be against a nap of his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he's too riled up, the leftover anger still simmering in his veins, and Buggy knows him well enough that his friend just wraps an arm around his back and draws him close, watching the tiny child sleeping with his head on Shanks' lap and Shanks' cloak over him like a blanket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Captain's kid, hu?" He says softly, and Shanks lets his head fall on Buggy's shoulder as he nods. "How the h- how did you find him?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"More like how did he find </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Shanks chuckles quietly. "Honestly I was pretty sure I was hallucinating most of the night - I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> drink all of those bottles, only sobered up when I realised that there was actually a kid right there and who that kid actually was. He just... showed up. Out of the blue, last night. Asked me why I was drinking and I ended up ranting about Captain and how he was a moron. Then he started asking questions about what I would say if the Pirate King had had a kid and well. Might have gone on a bit of a rant there, one that was half yes please but also fuck the Marines. It's a bit blurry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grimaces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"As for why I was so angry when you got there...." He takes a deep breath. "Apparently, he's being 'raised' by mountain bandits, because his 'gramps' says it's too dangerous for him to go to the village. Said gramps is almost never here because he's always busy. With </span>
  <em>
    <span>marine things.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And, well, I might have ranted about which Marines I would very much like to see dead in a ditch last night, and his gramps is very much on the list, and I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> questionning how much of Captain's limited ability to think rationally was affected by his illness for him to actually trust </span>
  <em>
    <span>Monkey Fucking D. Garp</span>
  </em>
  <span> with his kid when he never told any of us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy hisses. "Monkey-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How the fuck-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have no fucking clue but I am so kicking Captain in the dick with steeltoed boots and </span>
  <em>
    <span>haki</span>
  </em>
  <span> when it's my time to board the Dutchmann."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I'll be right next to you. If there's anything left of him once Ace's mother is done with him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks blinks. "Wait, Ace's mother? You know who she is?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy sends a hand out to flick him on the forehead. "So do you. Dumbass."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks just blinks some more because </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he very much doesn't.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She may not have used her family name much, but c'mon, don't tell me you don't see the resemblance," Buggy needles him, pointing at the pipe lying abandoned next to the sleeping boy. "It's not a staff, but given the size of the thing the kid probably uses it like one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks </span>
  <em>
    <span>stares.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Blackjack D. Rouge?" he hisses, careful to keep his volume down so as to not wake up the sleeping child in his lap. "Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding me?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy shakes his head with a snort. "Got her curls and her freckles, and the face shapes are the same. Noticed that before I noticed the eyes, even. And Yadomaru yelled at her by her full name once. Portgas D. Rouge."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks just </span>
  <em>
    <span>stares.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Blackjack D. Rouge. Now that Buggy pointed it out, he can see the resemblance, definitely, and it's a testament to how drunk he had been last night that he hadn't noticed it before the connection with Captain had pushed the familiarity to the background but...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Blackjack D. Rouge?" He repeats, shell-shocked. "How- I thought she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>taste!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Captain was a moron, she was completely out of his league! Watching him pine was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hilarious!</span>
  </em>
  <span> How the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> did they get together?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy winces slightly. "Not sure we'll ever get an answer," he whispers, voice going quiet. "You said he's being raised by bandits, by Monkey D. Fucking Garp - there's no way Blackjack would have let that happen if she had been in any state to stop it, Shanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Shanks... hadn't realised that. He should have, he knows, but... he hadn't.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh," is all he can say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah," Buggy swallows. "Oh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stay silent, for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are we gonna do, Shanks?" Buggy asks softly. "We can't - we promised we would never take a child aboard our ships unless we had no other choice, not for more than short journeys, like Usopp. But we can't leave him alone either-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know," Shanks swallows. "I'm headed for the New World after this, to become a Yonkou. I can't take a child with me there, not even for Paradise. I won't. We swore we wouldn't."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can stay, for a while," Buggy says. "But not too long, and if Garp comes back-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gulps, and Shanks grips his hand tightly. Much as Shanks wants to skin the bastard, he knows better than to underestimate him. Garp could stand toe to toe with Gol D Roger, they don't stand a chance against him in a fair fight. Not that they would make it a fair fight, but... their crews would get caught in the crossfire, and that's unacceptable.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>He looks at the child in his lap, cards his fingers gently through his hair. Ace looks so small like this, so young. So young and yet already so jaded, so very disillusioned by this world. With reasons, what with the world having hunted him down from before he was even born, but...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Blackjacks have been looking all over for their Captain, haven't they?" He asks, and Buggy turns his head slightly to look at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And we are honour bound to tell them of her fate once we know of it," Buggy aggrees. And the thing is, the Blackjacks are </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Even with their Captain's disappearance twelve years ago, they had stuck together, had weathered the years without giving up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We can't take him away from here, not without the entire might of the Marine hunting us at Garp's beck and call," Buggy dissects their options. "We can't stay here all the time either, because Garp would find out about it and hunt us down anyway. And you need to become a Yonkou to keep your people safe, and I need to lay low to do the same. I can't afford Garp's attention. You've already corrupted his actual grandkid, he's already going to be pissed off at you once he learns about it - and I may have only talked to the brat for five minutes, but even I know that child cannot lie to save his life, Shanks. Garp would know within two minutes if the villagers don't get to him beforehand. So we can't stay here long-term. But short-term..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Regular checks," Shanks whispers. "If the Blackjacks want to step in as well, if we can arrange for at least some of you to be close by at all time-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Close enough to whisk him away if there's even a whisper of someone figuring out who he truly is," Buggy nods. "And to stop by regularly to make sure he's okay and teach him some important life skills - he's a baby </span>
  <em>
    <span>D</span>
  </em>
  <span> like hell I'm not going to try and stuff some survival instincts into his thick skull. Might introduce him to your other brat, too. They could both do with some company, I think."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks agrees wholeheartedly. Luffy is </span>
  <em>
    <span>lonely. </span>
  </em>
  <span>So really, terribly, lonely. And so is Ace, lonely and touch starved and Shanks wants to paint the sea red with Monkey D Garp's blood for hurting both of these boys so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They could meet Usopp, too," he says. "And Zeff's brat as well, maybe? If the Baratie is ever close by? I don't think there's many kids their age around here - there's one or two in the slums, the Grey Terminals, that were too wary to approach me when I offered them somewhere safe to go, but maybe they can get along?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy hums in agreement. "Sounds good," he says. Then hesitates. "The Blackjacks-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll tell them," Shanks tells him. "I'll be headed that way anyway, and someone needs to stay close by to keep an eye on the kids. You're a lot more subtle than I am, Bug."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He feels more than sees the tension slowly drain from Buggy's shoulders. "Sorry," his friend says quietly. "I hate leaving you to tell them on your own, but..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's the Grand Line. I know Bug, I know," Shanks says, and he does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy had sworn, after their reunion, after Damian and Kureha had patched him up as well as they could, that he would never take his crew through the Grand Line unless he had absolutely no other choice. He had gone with Shanks to pick up his new ship from old man Tom, and he still visits Kureha regularly, though that's with the help of Richie's Conqueror's Haki more often than not and on tiny ship with only one or two of his nakama sailing through those troubled waters with him, but Buggy is done with adventures, done with the terrifying whims of the Grand Line and the New World. He loves the seas and he loves the waves, but Buggy will not torture himself by stepping into those waters again. He didn't swear it on Davy Jones, had known their luck well enough to know that one day he may have to sail those again, but he had sworn he wouldn't do so unless he had no other choice, and in this case there were other choices. Reasonable choices, even, though Shanks knows from the tone of his voice that BUggy blames himself for not coming with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want me to send the witch your way too?" he asks, changing the subject as he looks down at his captain's child, his new little brother. "We never figured out what Captain had- if there's a chance it's genetic..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's one of the many thoughts that had been haunting him ever since he had realised whose child he was holding. To lose Ace like he had lost Captain, to watch him become paler and thinner and gaunter, throw up blood... Shanks can't. He just can't.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buggy squeezes his hand. "I've checked his Haki. He doesn't feel like Captain did back then, but I definitely wouldn't say no to Kureha-sensei visiting. I'm not taking him there, not even with Richie bullying seakings for me, and Loyal doesn't have the proper equipment to do all the tests and..." he hesitates. "Kureha is </span>
  <em>
    <span>the best.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She would know better than anyone, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Right," Shanks nods. Then, just to be sure though he has a pretty good idea as to what Buggy's answer is going to be. "The others?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No need to specify who he's talking about here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Can remain ignorant until Ace is old enough to decide if he wants to meet them, and by that I mean until he's old enough to set sail on his own at the </span>
  <em>
    <span>earliest,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Buggy snarls, then blinks. "Davy Jones. Shanks, are we turning into </span>
  <em>
    <span>parents? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Scratch that, are we turning into </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Shanks can't stop the laugh that escapes from his throat at Buggy's completely panicked expression. Honestly though, he would be reacting the exact same way if he hadn't already had his own parenthood related freak out two months ago when he had realised just how attached he had grown to this tiny rubber kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"At least we're not dragging kids through seas and battles they're way too young for?" He tries to console his friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's not a very high bar to cross, Shanks!" Buggy roars, and Shanks dissolves into laughter at Buggy's panicked flailing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, they might just have adopted themselves a little brother, and they may have no clue what they're doing... But they have something vaguely resembling a plan, and, looking down at the freckled face resting on his knee, something worth trying for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They'll be just fine.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The discord folks are magnificent enablers and I regret NOTHING</p><p>I hope you enjoyed new story - let me know in the comments! </p><p>(This might end up turning into a series, because this is me and this plot bunny has bitten me, a lot xD)</p><p>  <a href="https://discord.gg/xreVUA2">If you too want to join me on Discord and watch me throw plot bunnies around (and get bitten by them anyway), it's this way!</a></p><p>Feel free to join it if you want to yell at me for giving you feels about Buggy the Clown, throw headcanons around, discuss latest chapters, give me new plotbunnies (you know who you are), share your own writing or favourite fics/art, or just want a place to virtually hang out at during these trying times: you're all welcome aboard !</p><p>ALSO! Thanks to the amazing Barid, <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/WatashitachiwaRogerkaizokudesuwestillstandproud"> the main fic now has a TV Tropes Page</a>! Please go and check it out, and feel free to add to it!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The discord folks are magnificent enablers and I regret NOTHING</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed this new story - let me know in the comments! </p>
<p>Next up: more talking, a surprise visitor, and plans for the future.</p>
<p>  <a href="https://discord.gg/xreVUA2">If you too want to join me on Discord and watch me throw plot bunnies around (and get bitten by them anyway), it's this way!</a></p>
<p>Feel free to join it if you want to yell at me for giving you feels about Buggy the Clown, throw headcanons around, discuss latest chapters, give me new plotbunnies (you know who you are), share your own writing or favourite fics/art, or just want a place to virtually hang out at during these trying times: you're all welcome aboard !</p>
<p>ALSO! Thanks to the amazing Barid, <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/WatashitachiwaRogerkaizokudesuwestillstandproud"> the main fic now has a TV Tropes Page</a>! Please go and check it out, and feel free to add to it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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